dnata announces acquisition of specialist aviation services company Air Dispatch

Monday, July 11, 2016 —
DUBAI, U.A.E., 11 July 2016 - dnata, one of the world’s largest air services providers, has reached an agreement to purchase a majority stake in Air Dispatch (which is part of the Chapman Freeborn Group). Air Dispatch was founded in 2007 and provides Centralised Load Control planning (CLC) services, calculating the weight and balance conditions for aircraft prior to flight. Its other services include ULD (unit load device) asset tracking and the development of Flight Optimisation software.The company currently has 200 employees at its operations centres in Prague and Warsaw, as well as a small head office team in the UK. Its client portfolio includes Air Berlin, Cathay Pacific, Finnair, LOT, SAS, Qantas and Qatar Airways amongst others.

“Air Dispatch is the global market leader in Centralised Load Services to the airline community. This latest acquisition will allow us to further broaden our portfolio to our airline customers and strengthen our position as a leading global air services provider”, said Stewart Angus, dnata’s Divisional Senior Vice President of International Airport Operations. “Air Dispatch is a company with a strong track record and valuable expertise and we are confident that they will be a beneficial addition to the dnata family.”

Nick Yeadon, CEO of Air Dispatch CLC and his management team will continue to lead the business. He commented, “We are excited to be entering the next phase of Air Dispatch CLC’s development. dnata is an excellent home for our growing business.”

The acquisition of Air Dispatch follows other recent high-profile transactions by dnata, including the acquisition of Ground Services International in the US, RM Ground Services in Brazil, and investment in ground handling operations in Milan and cargo facilities at Amsterdam Schiphol Airport.